Christmas week

Just a few highlights from the past week. The kids spent the Monday before Christmas at Grandma Arlene's baking. Making gingerbread houses were a major part of the fun! Violet lost her first tooth on Christmas Eve night. Audrey listening to her new iPod shuffle with Dad! Isaac reading to Levi.

Some other Christmas highlights that didn't include photos were dinners with many friends and family, rainy nights spent watching movies or playing games, making desserts with my dad (one that didn't turn out, two that did), our broken front window (a game of catch between Isaac and Grandpa), attending Christmas Eve service with our neighbor Jack, and the reading (and viewing) of A Christmas Carol.

Our New Years' Eve was very relaxed this year. After driving my parents to San Francisco and back on the 30th for their flight back to Kansas, we decided to stay home and take it easy. Randy's mom and brother joined us, as well as some good friends that live two doors down. We snacked and played games into the New Year! Grandma and the kids playing Pictureka. Quirkle cubes...our favorite new game! Thanks Jacinto family! Ready to celebrate the New Year! Just before 9 p.m. we turned on a live feed to New York from our computer and let the kids ring in the New Year with the East Coast. We went outside to let them blow their party horns and run around while... we cooked New Years' fritters! YUM!!! Every year since I started dating Randy in 1994, New Years' Eve is not complete without partaking in a New Years' fritter (sometimes called cookies). It's dough, filled with apples or raisins, fried, then rolled in sugar. I think I ate five. Or maybe six. But who's counting? Mexican train dominoes. Popping the champagne. Slamwich...the winning card of the night.

Happy New Year to everyone! I can't wait to see what God has in store for our family this year!